Blinding
by xImpossibleGirl
Summary: Will Graham meets someone who's incredibly similar to him, Lydia Evans. Jack wants Lydia to replace Will, and Lydia wants nothing more than to be away from the dead bodies and the nightmares. OC/Will
1. Chapter 1

Will Graham was unstable. That much was obvious, the young woman noticed as she watched him from afar. Her green eyes were alight with curiosity as she trailed behind Jack.

"Should you even have him out here?" She asks Jack, tripping over a branch embedded into the ground.

"I could be saying the same about you." Jack turns around to shoot the petite blonde a glare, "Should _you_ be out here? I'm breaking a lot of rules bringing you out here Lydia, but I want to see how you measure up."

Lydia eyes him, "What do you mean measure up?"

"You're right about Will. He shouldn't be out here. He's... not in his best mental state." Jack quips, as he clambers up the hill, "But he's all I've got for a good criminal profiler. That's why you're here."

Lydia stops, folding her arms over her chest, "You want me to replace him." She says it as a statement rather than a question.

Jack turns around, he nods, "Yes. I don't want to push Will, but I have to, I don't have any other choice."

"So Will's sanity is just.." Lydia takes a few steps towards him, "A small cost for the lives of others?"

"I never said this job was easy." Jack answers, shoving his hands into his pockets. He looks up at the dreary morning sky, "But it has to be done." He says with a definite tone, before charging back up the hill. Lydia stumbles after him, not another word was shared between the two.

When they reach the top of the hill, they see bodies, everywhere. They're hanging from trees, some are missing body parts, carelessly thrown dismembered arms and feet littered the cold ground. Lydia put her hand over her mouth, the stench was horrid, as was the scene.

"Not used to this?" Jack asks, managing to chuckle. "Okay boys! Put markers next to the ones with missing body parts - we'll be playing mixing and matching today!" Jack calls, he gives Lydia a pat on the shoulder. "Take a good look, kid." He leaves her then, going over to talk to Will.

Lydia walks along the bodies, looking at them closely. Only a few of them had their eyes open, to add onto that, those with their eyes open had knife marks along their lips. Dragging up their cheekbone, as if it was a smile. She noted that one of the people, a woman, had her wedding finger cut off. And that her face had more knife wounds than the rest.

She hadn't realized the vision was coming until it did. She almost fell over, yet she had nothing to hold onto. So she had to awkwardly sway on her feet as she stared down at the dead woman.

In her vision, she was watching the murder. She casually strolled past the barely breathing bodies to the woman, the woman in response looked up at her in fear.

"Who did this?" Lydia whispered, leaning down to ghost her hand across the woman's face.

The woman couldn't respond, her face was bleeding. She lifted up her hand to reveal the missing wedding ring finger, then she died.

Lydia snapped out of it, waking up to see one of the investigators hovering over her.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Lydia realized she was on the cold ground, she pulled herself up. "Yeah, sorry.. must have gotten.. overwhelmed." She says sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with an almost too innocent smile.

"Perfectly understandable, here, let me help you up." His name tag clearly read Jimmy Price, he was one of the crime scene investigators, "You're new, aren't you?" He says as he reaches under her arm and hoists her up.

She gives him a smile, "Yep. First day. Obviously going well."

Jack stormed over to the two then, "What the hell happened?" Jimmy, in the process, flees.

"Overwhelmed." Lydia says calmly, "I won't let it happen again."

Will walks over to them then, his glasses perched on the edge of his nose. He pushes them up to his eyes, "Are you okay? You hit the ground pretty hard."

She absentmindedly rubs the back of her head, feeling a small bump, "I'm fine. Just a tad bit-"

"What did you see." Jack asked her, leaning in towards her, "You had a vision."

Her eyes widen, realizing she'd been caught. "It was her husband." Brie walks them over to the woman with the missing finger and the wild eyes. "She did something, to betray him. So he killed her and cut off her wedding ring finger. Then he sliced her face so we wouldn't be able to recognize her."

"What about all these people?" Jack gestures around to them, "I'm sure they're not all his wives."

"No, they're randoms, people he.." Lydia took a deep breath, closing her eyes, "Practiced on. He wanted to make sure he inflicted as much pain on her as possible.. so she would know how badly she had hurt him."

Jack looks at her, then he turns to the crime scene investigators, "Finger print this woman immediately! Figure out who her husband is, then bring him down." He calls. "We have no time to sit around - we have a killer on the loose." Then he turns to Will, "What about you? What did you see?"

Will was silent for a few moments, his eyes glued to the small blonde, Lydia. She was biting her nail, nervous and bouncing on her feet. She was cold in the Autumn air, her knit cap and scarf doing little to help her.

"Same thing." Will answers plainly, almost bitterly.

Lydia's eyes unexpectedly connect with his. Green hitting blue, her eyes are defiant and confident. His are layered with sadness and knowledge, and just a spark of curiosity.

"Hm." Jack says, "Hm."

* * *

Lydia could not get out of there soon enough. She trailed behind Jack was he led her to his car. Once they were inside, doors locked, Jack turned to her.

"You out did Will."

Lydia looks down at her hands, fiddling with them nervously in her lap. "I wouldn't say that. It was fairly obvious.. I mean it's not rocket science or anything.." She's stumbling over her words.

"He didn't make the husband connection. He figured it was personal, but not the husband connection." Jack leans against his seat, "Just promise me, if you do end up replacing Will, you won't.."

"Become unstable? Mentally unhinged?" Lydia licks her lips, "I can't say I won't. All minds respond differently to.. these type of situations. Whatever type this is." Lydia leans her head against the window, "I don't know, Jack."

"I want you to allow Alanna Bloom to do a report on you."

Lydia looks at him, raising an eyebrow, "Worried I've already lost it, Jack?"

"It'd help me sleep at night."

"You?"

"Yes, me."

She scoffs, "Don't bullshit me, Jack. I can see right through you. Who wants me analyzed?"

"Will Graham."

She looks taken back, "Why on earth would, of all people, _Will Graham_, want me analyzed? Have I done something that said 'oh hey look at me, I'm crazy'?" Lydia takes her head away from the window. "Jack, you better tell me why or I'll storm out of this car and force him to tell me."

"He doesn't know about you, and that scares him." Jack leans back in his car seat, "He thinks you might be like him. I think, that in Will's head, he's trying to save you from turning into him."

"I don't have the same gift as him though." Lydia leans forward in her car seat, on the edge, "I see visions, I don't emotionally connect myself-"

"That woman today, the way you talked about her.."

"I talked about her as if she was any other dead woman." Lydia snapped.

"You really wish that were the case, don't you? You can't bullshit me either, kid."

Lydia grabs her seat belt, yanking it over her body and clicking it. "Lets go, I'll let this Alanna chick analyze me, just so you all can realize how stupid this is."

Jack doesn't answer her, he just starts the car and drives.

* * *

Lydia crawls into her bed that night, her calico cat Wilson was already curled up at the edge of her bed.

"Hi, sweetie." She says, letting her hand slide across Wilson's fur, "Mama had a hard day. Everyone thought I was crazy today. Same as any other day, right?" She dryly laughs, but the words sting.

"I'm getting analyzed tomorrow morning, what do you think they'll say? Probably start off with: definitely not a morning person." She laughs as she takes the covers off, sliding herself in. She clicks her lamp off.

"I'm terrified, Wilson. Terrified of what they'll say, does that make me crazy?"

_No it makes you sane._

That's what she tells herself before she dozes off to nightmare ridden sleep.

* * *

_My first Hannibal fanfiction! This will be featuring an OC (Lydia) and Will Graham, so yes, please enjoy_

_& review, & rate, & favorite. That'd be cool! _

_Hah.. :)_


	2. Chapter 2

Lydia rolls over on her side, her eyes were red, she barely slept last night. Her alarm clock read 5:23 AM, she rolls onto her back, groaning. She decides that she won't be able to sleep. She gets up and takes a long shower, her wet hair clings to her shoulders as she watches water go down the drain. She licks her lips nervously, closing her eyes for a few beats. When she opens them, the water is _red_. She gasps, looking at herself. She sees that blood is dripping from her finger tips. She quickly turns off the water, but the blood is still running.

"No no no." She's moaning, jumping out and wrapping a towel around herself. The towel, usually white, was now covered in blood. She drops the towel, shrieking. When she looks at the walls, they're all dripping with blood. Falling on the tiled floor, leaving dark red puddles. She closes her eyes, "Stop stop stop." She opens her eyes to realize she's missing a finger.

Her wedding finger. She shrieks, trying not to cry. She should be used to this by now.

"I'm going to hurt you like you hurt me." She hears, though her hands are covering her face. Lydia closes her eyes again, willing it all to go away. When she opens her eyes, it's all gone. She wakes up to be staring at her bathroom ceiling, the water was still running. She groans, picking herself up, absentmindedly feeling a bruise on her hip.

Her cat, Wilson, is in the doorway, mewing at her.

"Mommy's all right." Lydia coaxes the small animal, getting up and turning off the water. She walks past him, lighting patting him on the head, "She's fine." Though she's not sure who she's trying to convince. She's supposed to be at Alana Bloom's office at 8 AM, it was about an hour drive into town. She blow dried her hair, curled it, applied make up, and got into her clothes.

The clock read, 6:34 AM. She groaned as she walked into the kitchen. She searches through the cupboards, deciding on a blueberry granola bar. She checks her phone, seeing a text from her sister, Haley.

_How'd it go, champ_?

Lydia grimaces, remembering her.. blackout this morning. Though she types in a cheery reply, _the mystery is solved, the city is safe once more!_

She turns her phone off, shoving it into her pocket. She takes a bite of her granola bar, looking over at her approaching cat. "You hate granola, we're not playing this game today, Wilson." Lydia gives a small smile to her cat, "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

Wilson just blankly stares at her.

"Not that it matters what _you_ think." She sneers, drawing her eyes back to the TV, "It only matters what Alana Bloom thinks."

* * *

She's sitting outside of Alana Bloom's office. Nervously kneading her hands together, shooting quick glances towards the door. After her little.. moment this morning, she's not feeling that sure about herself.

Lydia did not want her fears confirmed. To be told how neurotic and unstable she had become through the use of her gift. Lydia wanted to peacefully snuggle with Wilson and watch reality TV all day. She didn't want to be unstable. She didn't want to be Will Graham.

Alana Bloom walks out of her office, Will Graham walking out after her.

Lydia stands up, her mouth ajar. "Um, so. You're supposed to analyze me or something, right?" Her voice is shaky, she's obviously terrified. She shifts on her other foot, kneading her hands together.

"Yes, of course." Alana's face is flushed, as if she's embarrassed, "Come right on in. Will, we'll talk later." She nods to the man, who seems shaken and out of place. Scared.

He only nods, pushing his glasses up his face. "Of course." He shakes Lydia's hand, "Good luck, she doesn't bite." He tries at a joke, but it fails miserably, he quickly ushers himself out of the room.

Lydia walks behind Alana Bloom, assessing her office. It was dark and seemed very cramped. She set herself on the big red chair across from the desk.

"As any of my appointments go, I do not aim to make you feel psychotic. I only aim to see how you are feeling, to see if you are stable to work in this type of situation. We don't want your situation to, eat you alive, for lack of better words." Alana laughs, but it doesn't touch her eyes.

Lydia licks her lips, only giving her a small, "Of course."

"Have you experienced any kind of nightmares? Hallucinations?" Alana Bloom grabs a pen, licking the tip and scrawling 'Lydia Evans' at the top of the paper.

"Yes."

Alana looks up at her, "Which one?"

"Both."

Alana's eyebrows shoot up as she crouches back over the paper, probably scribbling down 'psychopath'. "Use three words to describe yourself."

"Stubborn, fiery, and insecure."

"Tell me why. Explain why you chose these words, go one by one." Alana asks, leaning forward in her chair, placing her head in her hand.

"I'm stubborn because, well, that's just how I've always been. It's my way or else it's not right. I'm used to being right, so I only allow my opinion to be the right one. Anything else is just.. unacceptable." She watches Alana scrawl words quickly, but she keeps going, "I'm fiery because I don't take bullshit that well. Once you betray me you betray me forever, there's no going back. I'm snappy and indecisive. I'm insecure because I'm weak. I can't throw a quality punch and I barely weigh 120 pounds. So naturally, I'm a doe and the world is full of hunters."

Lydia leans forward, eyeing Alana's paper, she reads upside down scrawl the reads.

_Borderline unstable._

She leans back in her chair, willing the words away, but they're here to stay.

"Who wants you to replace Will? You or Jack?" Alana's hand seems to be flying across the paper. Lydia is a little taken back that Alana seems to think she knows everything about her after such a short conversation.

"Jack wants me to. He thinks Will is unstable, he doesn't want him out there. He cares about Will."

Alana nods, "Do _you_ think you're unstable?"

The question is so sudden, so raw, Lydia pauses for a moment. "Sometimes I am, but that's only human, right? I think everyone, at some point in their lives, has wanted to rip their own hair out and climb under their covers and never come out. It's human, so yes Alana Bloom, I am human."

Alana gives her a little smile, quickly scrawling down _defensive_.

"I think that's all I need from you."

Lydia raises her eyebrows, "Really, that's it?"

"Yep, that's it."

Lydia gets up out of the chair, brushing her sweaty hands on her jeans. "Well, it was nice to meet you." She shakes Alana Bloom's hand, who gives her a hearty smile.

"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine."

The twinkle in Alana Bloom's eyes is more unsettling rather than relaxing.

* * *

Lydia shivers in her cardigan, a nice olive color paired with a black beanie. She walks into the police station and beelines for Jack's office, wondering what Alana had to say about her. Right as she's about to round the corner, she sees Will and Jack.

She stops, deciding to eavesdrop. She hears her name and feels her heart fall.

"Will, she'll be fine." Jack is reassuring Will.. about.. her.

"Did you see what happened to me? I'm... unstable." Will grimaces when he says the word, as if it physically pains him to admit to it, "Trust me, you don't want one crazy person running around, nonetheless, _two_. Jack you need to think about this-"

"Do you think I haven't? Will, Lydia is a strong woman. She hasn't let her gift effect her before." Jack puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "If anyone can handle it, it's her."

"You thought I could handle it."

Silence.

"Now look at me, you're trying to.. replace me. As if that's going to fix me." Will runs a hand through his ruffled brown hair, "You can't break glass without hurting yourself while picking up the pieces."

Jack squints his eyes at Will, withdrawing his hand, "You're wrong. We can fix you, and we will. Lydia, on the other hand, isn't broken, and the minute I think she is, I'll take her out."

Lydia swallows hard, pressing herself harder against the wall.

"I hope you're right Jack, not just for me, but especially for her." Will says, sighing, realizing he won't win this argument. He walks away from Jack, in the opposite direction of Lydia.

Lydia waits a few beats before going up to Jack, "What did your psychiatrist friend have to say about me?"

Jack looks up, dazed, he blinks the confusion away, "Ms. Bloom? Ah, come into my office. I left her papers in there, I have yet to read them. Perhaps you could read them with me?"

Lydia nods, following him into his office. She lightly closes the door, then walks over to the chair in front of the desk, lightly setting herself in it. Jack shuffles through the papers on his desk, hardly seeming fazed by what Will said. He finally finds the paper, holding it up with a grin. He sits down in the large black chair, licking his lips.

"Fiery, defensive.. borderline unstable." Jack bites his lip, the frustration back on his face, remembering what Will had said. "Ghosts through life, barely there. Hardly aware. Lack of sleep?" Jack looks at Lydia.

She swallows hard, "I had a nightmare, that's all, nothing to worry about."

Jack nods, licking his lips. "Ms. Bloom recommends keeping you out of the field."

"What do you recommend?" Lydia asks, crossing her legs and leaning forward.

"I think, you'd stop a lot of people from getting killed. I think Ms. Bloom is underestimating you, I don't think you're unstable in any way, shape, or form. Ms. Evans, I think you're perfectly sane." Jack sets the papers down, folding his arms. "But it's not what I think, it's not what Ms. Bloom thinks, it's you. Do you think you're sane?"

Lydia thinks back to the bleeding walls, the screams in her dreams. The missing finger, the visions, the fainting spells. She thinks about it all, she thinks about having to leave rooms just so she can breathe. She thinks about the dead woman, she glances at her fingertips, remembering the blood that fell from them. Lydia thinks about it all, she feels raw terror strike through her chest.

She lies.

"Yes, I am perfectly sane."

* * *

_These first few chapters will be a lot of character development, especially with Lydia. So not a lot of Will/Lydia yet! _

_Review, fave, and follow 3 Thanks for reviewing if you do, or (did). 3 _

_Really appreciate it! _


	3. Chapter 3

_Perfectly sane_. The words rang through her head all night, as she tossed and turned and dreamed of the color red. Everywhere, yet when she opened her eyes, no where. They rang through her head when Jack called her, asking her to come analyze a crime scene.

They rang through her head when she saw Will Graham. She didn't know him, nor did he know her. She knew that he talked about her too much for her liking. Worried too much, yet knew too little.

The crime scene, unlike her house, was full of red. Red splattered on the walls, layered to leave a picture of an eye. The eyes in the corpses were missing, Lydia realizes as she walks along them. Each of them in their own artistic position. Some crossing their legs, others pondering their thoughts. Alive poses for very dead people. Lydia feels a sharp pain in her head, behind her eyes. So sharp she has to take a step back, sucking in a breath.

"You okay?"

She hadn't realized he had crept up on her so easily. She turned around, opening her eyes to see Will Graham looking at her, concerned.

"I'm fine, thanks." She breathes, turning away.

"Did you know, as cliches go, 'I'm fine' is considered one of the top three largest lies in the world?" Will says, standing next to her, "If this is too much for you, I'm certain Jack would allow you to leave."

Lydia lets her tongue flick out, wetting her cherry lips, "It's not too much for me. What about you? The grapevine tells me that you're unstable, should you be here?"

"Should you?"

She turns away from him again, "Are you a shrink? Is that why you answer my questions with questions?"

"No, I'm far from a shrink." Will smirks, looking down at his feet, then over to Lydia, "Have you had one of your.. err.. visions or whatever yet? Whatever you call them."

Lydia is taken back by how up front he is, she swallows hard. "No, I haven't. What about you?" She bites her finger, "What do you even do? No one's told me, no one seems to know. You know what I do, I feel like it's only fair that I get to know what you do too."

"It might frighten you."

Lydia nods to all the corpses, "_This_ doesn't frighten me. I highly doubt that _you_ will." She pauses, "Try me."

"I catch psychopaths, because I _think_ like one. As some would say, 'I put myself in their shoes'. It's incredibly mentally taxing, hence why you've heard all of the 'unstable' talk, especially about me. I don't know specifically what you do, but please, entertain me." Will looks at Lydia sadly, "I'm tired of looking at corpses."

Lydia sighs, "I think we all are. My visions are strange, I feel this aching pain, then, as shown, I either pass out or just - I'm not there anymore. I'm mentally absent. I'm an observer, I can talk to the victim. They can't say that much, depending on how they died. The woman who got her face cut up couldn't talk to me. Sometimes I'm there while it's happening, but it's all static to me, I can't see the murderer, but I can hear them, what they say."

"That's amazing." Will compliments, "I can see why Jack prefers you over me. Besides you being prettier." He adds the last part with a chuckle, pushing his glasses up his face.

Lydia's face flushes, "Um, thank you?" She folds her arms over her chest, "So can you do that on command or is it something you have to wait for?"

"On command. I usually do it when everyone's gone." Will says, "I'm worried I might do something.. do you ever worry about that?" He asks timidly, unsure if he was treading into uncharted waters.

"I usually worry about snapping my neck when I fall down. I don't do much during visions, sometimes I cry, or scream. I never actually.. _do_ anything. What about you? What do you do?"

"One time I contaminated a crime scene. Jack was not happy about that, pretty certain he was going to rip my head off." Will scratched the back of his head.

"Why do people call you unstable?" She finally asks the big question, her nosiness getting the better of her.

Will sighs, "I was hoping you wouldn't ask."

"Now why would you hope for that?"

"Some people ask questions even though they don't want the answer."

Did Lydia want to know? Did she want to know why Will was so distant? So vacant? Did she want to really involve herself into the mystery of him? Was Lydia willing to take a step forward, only to either be pushed back or brought in too close? Was Lydia ready for this?

"Some people have to ask the questions so they can learn not to be afraid of the answer." Lydia quips, letting their eyes connect. She won't tear her eyes from his when he gives her the answer, she won't let herself be afraid.

"I've been losing time. There are long periods in which, I have no memory of." He sighs, "I have nightmares, hallucinations, I've been to shrinks, Hannibal Lector being my main shrink. I've been to psychologists, and they can't find anything. According to them, I'm perfectly fine. But.. I can just feel there's something wrong, something isn't clicking." He taps the side of his head, "I'm losing time and as I lose time, I lose hope for an answer. That's why I don't like asking questions, because the answers are either not there or terribly complicated."

Lydia nods slowly, "Losing time? How do you know though? What if you're losing time right now?"

Will swallows, "There's a very strong possibility I am. But I don't feel like I am, I know when I've lost time because I wake up somewhere else. I always wake up, though I've never fallen asleep."

"I'm sorry."

Will looks over at her, shock ghosting through his eyes, "You have no need to be."

"I am though."

Will nods slowly, "Tell me why Ms. Bloom finds you borderline unstable."

Lydia looks over at him, "Do you want the answer?"

"Very much so."

Lydia sighs, looking at the ground, "I just hallucinate sometimes, I have nightmares. I tell myself it's nothing, I don't want to believe something isn't clicking. I feel sometimes that I'm unstable.. insane even. But I just tell myself I'm human, that it's normal to lock yourself into bathrooms and scream." She runs a hand through her air, "I don't like questions either." She decides then, "The answers are complicated." She pauses, "You must think I'm crazy now."

"On the other hand, I actually think you're one of the sanest people I've ever met."

* * *

The vision is so strong she almost falls off her feet. She walks up to one of the bodies, a young man, he's whimpering, she whispers to him, "Who did this to you?"

"Who's there?!" He shouts, frantic, he wants to cry but he has no eyes to cry with. He's going to bleed out, he's going to die.

"Shhh. Tell me, who did this to you." Lydia prompts him, hoping he'll stop panicking.

"No one is there, you silly boy. You're going to die, you're hearing an angel now. No angel will help you now." Lydia whirls around, hoping to see the murderer, but sees nothing, just a towel hanging in the air, rinsing off a bloody knife. "If only you could see. Then you could see. Now, the FBI will see. They'll see what I'm capable of."

"This isn't a way to get back into the FBI." The young man whimpers, wanting to cry, "You're nuts old man."

"And you're going to die, no angel can help you. You will lay there, and you will bleed out. And I will laugh, I'll laugh as the FBI struggles to find me. I'll laugh at them all, and your family will never have the taste of justice. I was in the FBI, I can dodge them just as easily."

"Who is he? Give me a name?" Lydia reaches out to touch the young man.

"I can't see him!"

"Do you know him?" Lydia prompts, "Come on kid give me something!"

"H-H-He was a friend of my Dad's." The young man moans, "Please help me, oh God help me. Are you an angel?"

Lydia looks at him sadly, "I wish I was. I can't help you." She soothes, "You won't be in much pain for much longer." She wants to weep for him, "Just imagine you're dreaming, that none of this is happening."

The young man whimpers more, "I don't want to die."

"I know you don't." She whispers. She reaches out to touch his face - right as her fingertips are about to touch, she's yanked out of the vision. When her eyes open, she finds herself laying next to the young man. She gets up, shaking.

She has his blood on her white blouse. She quickly takes it off, revealing the white tank underneath. She runs into the bathroom, trying to rinse out the blood - frantically.

"Bleach should get it out." Will Graham says, holding out a bottle of bleach to her.

"You were watching me?" She asks shakily, taking the bleach from him, rinsing it into the shirt.

"Yes." He answers plainly, "I wanted to see what you did. You were talking, did you know you did that?"

"I must have picked it up, like I picked up contaminating a crime scene." Lydia groans, scrubbing harder, feeling tears in her eyes, "I have his blood on my shirt, Will. I can't, I c-can't get it out."

"Here." Will lightly shoves her away from the sink, taking the shirt from her. "You're getting overwhelmed. Breathe." He tells her, coaxes her, "You're in Phoenix, Arizona. It's 11:49, your name is Lydia Evans, and you are going to be just fine." He says, the blood finally coming out of the blouse.

Lydia leans against the wall, sinking until she hits the floor, "Now you must really think I'm insane." She says, putting her face in her hands. She hears the sink turn off, but she doesn't move. Will sits beside her, waiting patiently for her to pick her face up.

"I still stick with what I said earlier." Will puts his arm around her, pulling her into him, "You, are perfectly sane. You are just perfectly frightened, as you should be."

Lydia closes her eyes, "I talked to him, that young man. He was so scared, he wanted to live so badly. I wanted to save him, I wanted to help him so badly."

"You can help him by finding his killer." Will reassures her, his face in her hair, "That's how you can save him."

Lydia gets up, shrugging Will's arm off his shoulder, "We should go, tell Jack what I did.."

Will nods, putting her wet shirt over his shoulder, "He'll understand, it's not like you've ever done this before. As long as you don't make a habit of it, besides, I think they were done here."

Lydia nods, hoping that he's right.

_"I'll laugh at them all."_

She hears his voice in her head and she wants to disappear.

* * *

_thank you for the reviews! :)_

_fave, review, follow, my three favorite words! 3_


	4. Chapter 4

"Stop making those eyes at me." Lydia Evans says as she sits across from Jack, "I'm not losing my mind."

Jack nods slowly, opening a few folders absentmindedly, "Contaminating a crime scene isn't like you."

"Really? It isn't? I tend to do that in my free time." Lydia rolls her eyes, leaning back in the large black chair, "Go ahead, criticize me. Tell me I'm beginning to act like Will Graham. He doesn't usually contaminate crime scenes either, does he? I told you I wasn't cut out for this."

Jack takes a drink out of his coffee mug, "No one is. No one is ever cut out for staring at dead bodies, but it pays. That's why people do it. They do it for the money, not because they enjoy staring at the bodies. So suck it up."

Lydia blinks hard, remembering the blood soaking through her shirt - how fiercely she scrubbed her skin the minute she got into the shower. "The man, that murderer, he was an ex FBI agent. The kid - the young man, his father knew him."

Jack grabs his phone, mouthing a few words into the phone that she can hardly hear. He hangs it up so aggressively she jumps, "You say you weren't cut out for this. You're not cut out for saving lives? That young man is going to have justice now, thanks to you."

Lydia nods, standing up abruptly, feeling the need to vomit and take another shower. "I have to go."

Jack eyes her, tilting his head to the side, "Are you okay?"

Lydia nods quickly, swallowing hard, "Yes, yes I'm fine. I just, need some air." She just about runs out of the room, grabbing her leather jacket hanging over the chair. She dashes into the hallway, taking a deep breath. She grabs the back of her shirt, feeling that it's wet. She lets her fingers fall back to her face and sees that they are covered in blood. She shrieks, the people in the hallway stare at her.

Lydia dashes off in the other direction, as far from their stares as possible. They can see the blood too.

She rounds a corner and crashes into Will Graham, her eyes are wild and panicked, he looks confused.

"Lydia?"

She stands up abruptly, "I-I have to go." She stutters, trying to shove past him.

"Wait wait - are you okay?" Will grabs her firmly by the arm, "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Lydia shakes her head wildly, "Please, just let me go Will I have to-"

"You have to go, I gathered that." Will looks at her, concern lining his eyes, "Lydia, tell me, are you actually okay?"

Lydia shakes her head again, "I-I have to go, it's all over me. Please let me go, please." She's begging him now, tears are threatening the edge of her eyes.

"What's all over you?" Will asks, taking her by the arm and leading her into an isolated classroom, "Lydia, tell me what's going on."

Lydia is staring down at her feet, shaking her head wildly. Will has his hands on her shoulders, "I-I feel crazy, Will. Jack is right, I might be losing my mind, oh god." She whimpers and he pulls her into him, her head on his chest. Her eyes clamped shut. "Just tell me his blood isn't on my shirt."

Will freezes up for a second, "You're hallucinating about him."

Lydia lets her hands clutch around him, "I-It feels so real, I need to go home, I need to-"

"Scrub your skin raw? Cry? Don't let him get into your head." Will releases her, letting his palms rest on her cheeks, "You'll get through this, you're strong. There is no blood on your back, your name is Lydia Evans, it is.." Will checks his watch, "6:57 PM, and there is no blood on your back."

Lydia reaches back, feeling her back, only to feel it dry, she lets her hand fall back to her face. She sees no blood. "How do you do that?" She whispers, "Make them go away? Can you do that too?"

"Unfortunately, I can't do that for myself."

"I-I'm sorry." Lydia stutters when she realizes how intimate the two are, taking a quick step back, "You must think I'm crazy now."

"You're a large fan of 'must' aren't you? Did you ever think, I don't find you crazy at all? I find you to be the most intriguing human being I've ever met."

Lydia's face flushes a bright red. "I can't be that interesting. I just hallucinate and have visions about talking to dead people." She adds a dry insincere laugh.

* * *

Lydia wakes up to the constant ringing of her phone. She waits for it to stop, but it keeps going. She finally grabs it hastily, waking up her cat, Wilson, in the process, who gives a soft meow of protest.

"What?" She shouts into the phone, her voice groggy and cracked. "It's the middle of the fucking night!"

"L-Lydia, is this you?"

Lydia sits up right in her bed, "_Will_?" She asks.

"I need you to come over right now - please, I-I need your help. I don't know I just-"

"Will are you okay? Are you in danger or something, where are you?"

"I'm at my house, I just, I need you here." Will sounds frantic and terrified, "I'll text you my address, just.. _please_." The please is desperate and sounds close to a cry, right when Lydia is ready to retort, Will hangs up the phone.

Lydia bolts out of her bed, putting her hair in a lose bun and putting on a loose fitting sweater that reveals one of her shoulders. She finds a pair of jeans and steps into a pair of black boots. She grabs her keys and pops a piece of gum in her mouth.

She hurriedly types in Will's address into her GPS. After a few seconds, her GPS beeps, signalling it's ready to get driving. She weaves through the dark city, some lights in apartments flicker off. She soon drives out of the city, into the country.

"Great, he sent me to the middle of no where." She grumbles, speeding up a little bit. Uneasy.

Finally, she jerks her car to the right in front of a dark house. She pulls herself out of the car, charging up the steps, she aggressively bangs on the door. Checking her phone to see that he's left her frantic voice messages.

_"Lydia, oh my god, please, hurry, they're coming for me - Hobbs, oh god no. Did I kill them? Did I? What is going on, oh god."_

Lydia bangs on the door more aggressively. She grabs her phone and dials his number, "Come on, come on." She's growling. When he doesn't pick up, she settles for banging on the door again, causing his dogs to begin howling and barking.

Will finally answers the door, in his boxers and a white sweat soaked t-shirt.

"What are you doing here?" He grumbles, wiping his eyes.

"Are you kidding?" Lydia asks, her eyes wide, "You called me over five times begging me to come over. Not to mention the voice messages..."

Will looks confused, "I didn't call you."

"Yes, yes you did." Lydia pauses for a few moments, "You lost time again. You were.. dream dialing?"

Will leans against the side of the door frame, "It's freezing, I can't believe you even bothered to come out here. Here, come inside, have a cup of hot cocoa. Too cold to be out here this time of night." He steps aside, letting her in.

Lydia steps inside the house, immediately being greeted by his dogs, she pets them, "Aren't you all cuties?" She coos, petting them. "You don't remember calling me?"

"I don't even remember grabbing my phone, definitely not pressing buttons either." Will sighs, putting a kettle on the stove top. "These voice messages, can I listen to them?"

"Yeah, of course." Lydia fishes her phone out of her pocket, getting to her voicemails, she hands the phone to Will. He sits on the couch, and she sits on the love seat across from him. His face falls, sighing as he goes through the voice mails.

"This is just scary." He says as he hands her phone back to her.

"You're telling me. It's 1:19 in the morning and I'm sitting in your living room out in the middle of no where. Lets talk about scary." She dryly laughs, putting her phone in her back pocket. "Do you want me to stay?"

The kettle starts to scream then. Will gets up immediately, turning off the stove and grabbing two cups. He pours burning hot water into each, then he grabs two small packets of cocoa mix. He sets the kettle in the sink, quickly beginning to stir the two cups. He comes back into the living room, handing one to her.

"If you want to, you can." Will says, taking a sip of his hot cocoa, "I probably won't be sleeping again tonight."

"You should try, so I can knock you out if you start sleep dialing me again."

Will gives her a little smile, "Lets hope it doesn't come to that."

Lydia takes a sip of her hot cocoa, it scorches her tongue, but it feels warm travelling down her throat. She cups her hands around the searing cup, "It's one thing to hear about losing time, it's another thing to actually lose it, isn't it?"

Will nods slowly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "Terrifying, absolutely terrifying. I hope I'm not losing time right now, I would hate to forget that you drove out in the middle of the night to.. coddle me."

Lydia gives him a little smile, "Next time we have to do this, try middle of the day. You'll get a much peppier version of me then."

* * *

_y'all know the drill, review, fave, and follow - makes my day! Enjoy! _

_xxx_


	5. Chapter 5

She wakes up, not because of the mews of Wilson, nor to the aggressive beeping of her alarm clock. She just wakes up because her body tells her to. She moves her feet to nudge Wilson, but finds nothing but air. She lets her eyes open to realize she's not in her home. Lydia realized a blanket was covering her, a nice knit quilt. She took it off of her to realize she was laying on a couch. She remembers, Will Graham calling her in the middle of the night - she connects dots when she spots his dog Winston staring at her.

"Good morning, boy." She coos, patting his head, "Wilson would hate you." Lydia quips, rolling off of the couch, stretching.

"You're up." Will Graham notes, coming out of the shower in a towel hung around his waist, "Sorry - I didn't think you'd be up for a few more hours.." His face is red and sweaty from the shower.

Lydia scratches the back of her neck, "Um, yeah, I just woke up. At first I had no idea where I was - but anyways, I should probably get going." She slides her boots on with ease.

"Yeah, probably."

Lydia gives him a little smile, "As always, just a phone call away." She says, shaking her phone at him, "See you around, Will." And with that, she leaves. Right as she opens the door, she comes face to face with Jack.

"Lydia. What.. are you doing here so early in the morning?" Jack asks her, glancing at the watch on his wrist.

Lydia lets her mouth fall open, fully aware of what this probably looks like. "Oh, we were just talking, must have fallen asleep." Lydia says quickly, adding a small smile, "I was just heading out."

Jack nods, stepping aside to let her through. ".. Well.. okay then, have a safe trip home."

Lydia smiles at him again, walking down the steps, "Thanks, you too!" She replies, a little too chipper for her taste. She bites her lip as she grabs her keys out of her back pocket, shoving it into the lock.

* * *

They were interviewing the man who murdered all of those people. Lydia decided to tag along, wondering who's face the voice belonged to. When she got to the other side of the glass, her mouth fell open. She couldn't believe her eyes. He was average looking, barely murderous, but when she looked at him, she could feel in her core - that he was the murderer. He also carried an aura about him, it was black, like a black hole. He seemed to suck the energy out of the room, wrinkles lining his features.

"Leon Andrews, 49, former FBI agent, no history of violence." Jack says, reading off the clipboard. "No alibi, no wife, no kids. We have him in the bag." Jack says from beside Lydia, "You don't look too happy about that."

Lydia jumps a little, taking in a deep breath, licking her lips, "I-I am happy about it. It's just, I don't usually do this. See the murderer, I only.. hear them." Lydia says quietly when Leon turns his dark brown eyes to stare at her. "He can't see me, can he?"

"He can't." Jack affirms, tilting his head to the side, gazing at her, "You don't seem okay, do you need some air?"

Lydia shakes her head, swallowing hard, that black aura sucking life out of her, "No. I'm fine."

Suddenly, someone stops beside Jack. Lydia has no idea who this new face is, she just sees him in his darkness. The man is followed by an aching darkness, it's black, darker than Leon's. She can hardly breathe, his darkness is so overwhelming it almost overcomes her. She nearly takes a step back, but instead places her poker face on.

"Ah, I'm sure you two haven't meant. Lydia, meet Hannibal Lector." Jack introduces the two, Hannibal, the man with the darkness, reaches out and grasps her hand, shaking it.

"A pleasure to meet you." Hannibal quips, "I've heard nothing but good things about you. I understand Jack is intending for you to take over for Will?"

Lydia nods, realizing she has to talk now, "Yes, that is his intention."

"Is it not yours?" Hannibal asks. He's obviously a psych, digging his nails into whatever information he can grasp.

Lydia gives him a little smile, "I don't suppose anyone likes being in this business. It's the end result that keeps me here." She nods at the man in the interview room. "Otherwise I would have bolted a while ago."

Lydia is so curious, so fascinated, by how such a man could have such a darkness. His eyes seem nothing but polite. She thinks she may be mistaken, that he could be feeding off of Leon's aura, but she can't tell.

"Perfectly understandable. Some people are not mentally capable in this business. I understand Alana Bloom didn't want you out in the field?" Hannibal is digging, it's irritating Lydia, but she keeps being polite.

"She didn't think I could handle it." Lydia answers, licking her lips, "She underestimates me. She cannot understand who I am in under ten minutes, it's simply impossible."

Hannibal nods, taking off his coat and folding it over his arms. "You do seem like a very strong woman, Lydia."

Lydia gives him a small smile, "Thank you. I do try my best."

Will walks over to the three, "I see you've met Lydia."

Hannibal's eyes light up, "Yes, yes I have. She is just as lovely as you've said. Shall we take a walk, Will? Perhaps you would much rather be in a less stressful environment. One without murderers, that is." Hannibal nods at Leon, "You're welcome to join us Lydia."

Lydia shakes her head, "No thank you. I find I work better under stress." She says with a dry laugh.

Hannibal gives her a smile and a small nod, "Well then, I don't wish to disturb you. Come along, Will." Hannibal walks past Lydia, Will following him, who gives her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

When they're gone, Jack turns to Lydia.

"Hannibal is Will's therapist, he's a great asset to us. He's the only one who can keep Will grounded." Jack folds his arms over his chest, staring at Leon. "Let's hope we don't need him for you too."

Lydia swallows hard, "Something.. isn't quite right, about Hannibal Lector."

Jack looks over at her, surprised, "Hannibal is one of our greatest assets. Are you trying to tell me something, Miss Evans?"

"Innocent men don't hide in he shadows." Lydia says, looking up at Jack, "That man is surrounded with darkness. I've never seen something so dark, so.. evil, so calculating. I may have been mistaken. Just be aware of him, Jack. There's something.. off."

"Dr. Lector has seen a lot throughout his time with us. A lot more than any average shrink. He's been attacked, murdered a man, and has met the evil of the evil. No man can get away from this kind of business unscathed, perhaps that is what you're seeing. I will tell you one thing, Hannibal Lector is no killer - he is no Leon Andrews. He is one of the most innocent men I know, and you can take my word for that."

Lydia shakes her head, shyly staring at her shoes, "I must have been mistaken."

"Yes, you must have."

Lydia swallows the bile building in her throat.

* * *

Right as she's leaving the headquarters, Will appears, on her heels. "Lydia!"

Lydia whips around, her blonde locks all falling to one side, she offers him a soft smile, "Hey Will."

Will is sheepish, he runs a hand through his curly hair, "I was just.. wondering if you were.. okay. You seemed like you were going to be sick in there." Will nods at the headquarters.

Lydia gives him a thankful smile, "I'm fine, thank you. I'm just not used to it.. that kind of thing. When someone kills.. it like.. it leaves a stain on the person. It goes into their.. 'aura' for lack of better terminology. Leon's was.. overwhelming."

Will's eyes grow dark, and he takes a step closer to her, "Do I have.. a stain?"

Lydia had never noticed it before. His stain was faint and shy, almost trying to hide from her. She eyes it, "Yes Will, you do."

Will nods, swallowing hard, rubbing his face while nodding, "Yes, yes of course I do."

"So does your friend, Dr. Lector."

Will raises an eyebrow at her, "Hannibal? I highly doubt that, Hannibal is an honorable man. If anything, it may have been a case of self defense." He shakes his head, "There's no way."

"The darkest I've seen." Lydia's eyes grow distant, as she remembers his aura. It was dark, holding monsters that only children could dream about. She shook her head. "It might just be the lack of sleep..."

Will nods, though he doesn't believe her, "Again, sorry for that. I'm not used to doing that kind of thing. I was losing time.. and you.." Will's face flushes, "You brought me back."

Lydia looks away for a second, wind blowing in her face. She grabs one of the locks of her hair that was astray from the rest, tucking it behind her ear. "It was nothing.. really-"

Right as she says it, Will reaches out, his hand lightly grazing the side of her face as he grabs another lock left behind. "Forgot one." He bashfully says, tucking it behind her ear, then pulling away from her as if she had burnt him.

"Thanks." Lydia smiles, "I have to get going."

"Yeah, mind if I walk you to your car?"

Lydia nods, "I'd like that." They walk in silence to her car. When they reach her car, Lydia fiddles for her keys.

"You don't think I'm.. unstable, do you?"

Lydia looks up at him, away from her keys, "Some things are off.. but I wouldn't say unstable." She offers him a smile, then she shakes her head, "I don't know if this is my best idea, but do you want to come over, for tea?"

Will smirks at her, tilting his head to the side, "Tea?" He kicks the ground shyly, "Not many people I work with invite me for..tea." He chuckles, entertained by the idea. "Yes, actually, I would love to."

"That's great. Just a fair warning, I have a cat. I know you're more of a dog person, but always be open to new things, isn't that what the kids say?" Lydia finally unlocks her car door. "Do you want to ride with me, and then we can just carpool tomorrow morning to get your car?"

Will considers the idea, turning it over in his intelligent mind. He scratches his stubble, "We could just carpool, that is, if you don't mind being around me."

Lydia shakes her head, laughing, "If I didn't like being around you, I wouldn't be inviting you for tea, would I?"

Will puckers his lips, "Suppose not."

Lydia presses the 'unlock' button on her key, "Get in, Graham."

* * *

_Thank you for all of your lovely reviews! I forget how sweet you guys can be!_

_fave, follow, and review! My three favorite words!_

_xxxx_


	6. Chapter 6

Lydia places the kettle on the stove top, turning it onto HIGH. She leans against the counter, staring at Will, waiting for him to speak. He sighs, running a hand through his hair.

"You don't have to do this."

Lydia purses her lips, her fingernails playing along the counter surface, "What are you talking about?" She asks.

"Be nice to me, treat me like.. I'm normal." Will sighs, "I know you think I'm crazy."

Lydia laughs, turning around to open the cupboard, grabbing down two cups. "You are, by far, one of the most insecure men I've met. I don't know how many times I have to reassure you, I _enjoy_ your company. Especially when I'm not tripping over myself and not falling asleep in your loveseat."

Will laughs, leaning back in the chair, seeming relaxed - for once. "I've been called many things, however, not one of them has ever been 'insecure.'"

"Then you've been talking to a bunch of liars." Lydia says, thinking back to Hannibal Lector. She shakes her head, refusing to let him bother her as she retrieves a box of tea packages from the top shelf, standing on her tip toes.

"Do you think you'll replace me?"

Lydia pauses for a few moments, opening the box slowly. "I don't know. I think I'd break long before then." She admits sheepishly, "I can't really.. handle it. I tell Jack I can, because I don't want to let him down."

"Then you and me, are very much alike."

"Does that scare you?" Lydia asks, whirling around to view him head on. "That we're alike, I mean? Do you think I'll.. turn into some version of you? Is that why you're so concerned about me all the time?" She walks over to him, sitting across the table from him.

Will pushes his glasses up his face, crossing his arms over his chest. "You've known."

"For a while now." Lydia nervously fiddles her hands together, "You and Jack aren't that conspicuous."

"Yes."

"What?"

"The answer to your question is yes, I'm worried. I'm.. I'm sick, Lydia, and it's not something that I can just pop a few pills and be done with it. I catch murderers because I think like one, and in return, they get into my head." Will taps the side of his head, "We don't quite do the same thing, but I've seen it - glimpses of me in you, almost like.. I'm staining you. Those wild eyes back at the FBI, where you thought you were covered in that young man's blood. You looked like you were going to break."

Lydia opens her mouth, hoping for her lips to form some kind of answer. A scream sounds through the air, she looks over at the kettle, quickly getting up and turning the stove top off. She pours the boiling water into both cups, her hands shaking.

_You looked like you were going to break._

She sets the tea bags in each cup, handing one to Will and she sits in the seat beside him.

"I still don't think you're crazy." Lydia says, looking up at him as her hand idly plays with the other tea bag.

"You're the first." Will laughs, it's low and hollow. Wilson, jumps up on Lydia's lap, causing a small shriek of surprise to come from her.

"Oh hey, there you are you little demon." Lydia pets the small kitten's head, "This is the little demon in question, Wilson. He's not very fond of strangers, they were going to kill him, but when I saw him, I was the only person he was nice to. So I couldn't just leave him, ya know? So, I adopted him. We've been pretty inseparable since then." While she talks, her eyes are drawn to the cat, filled with adoration and affection.

Will smiled, "That's very...sweet."

Lydia picks up Wilson, setting him on the floor, "Yeah, I kind of have a soft spot for animals."

Will takes a sip of his tea, "I had no idea. I just thought you were good with them, especially with Winston, kind of a shy guy." Will shrugs, taking his glasses off, "You don't have to replace me. I can handle it."

"If you calling me in the middle of the night is 'handling it'. I'm pretty certain I could handle it better than you." Lydia says, a little playfully - borderline serious. She raises an eyebrow at him as she raises the burning tea to her lips.

Will purses his lips, weighing the option in his head, "I like you the way you are now though, I don't want Jack, murderers, or anyone - messing that up, even me. I don't want anyone to shatter you."

"I'm not glass."

"But you are. Everyone, everything, is glass. So easy to break if you know which.. hammer, to use. This business, on people like us, is just a huge hammer, right in here." Will touches the side of his head, "What happens to broken glass when you try to pick it up?"

"It cuts you." Lydia supplies, leaning forward in her chair.

"Exactly. The minds of the murderers to me, are broken glass. Yet I keep picking them up, though I know I'll always have the same result." Will looks down at his tea, idly playing with his tea bag.

Lydia looks at him, sad, "That's so sad."

"It's not a very bright business." Will says with a low chuckle, "And no one as bright as you should get in it."

"I'm not that bright." Lydia argues.

Will looks up at her, his eyes large, as if saying 'are you kidding me'. "You're one of the brightest people I've met. You are sympathetic, you get too close, you're dancing around the glass expecting it not to cut your feet. I'm broken glass, and yet you keep dancing around me, as if I won't hurt you."

"But you won't." Lydia argues again, clearing her throat, "You would never hurt me."

"One day, I'm going to pick up the wrong piece of glass, the piece that cuts too deep. When that day comes, I want you nowhere near me. This isn't a request, it's for your safety. I hardly trust myself to be here. Why would I call you while I was losing time?"

Lydia's at a loss for words.

"I barely knew you, yet I knew I had to pick up the phone and call _you_. Why does this all keep coming back to you? You do not belong in this business, Lydia."

Lydia looks down at her hands for a few moments, then looks up at him to see him intensely staring at her. She hadn't realized how hurt he was until she looked into his eyes. He was hurt because she was insistent on taking his place, keeping him from hurting himself anymore than he already had. How had they gotten to this point? How had two strangers come to care about each other's mental state so much? Lydia did not Will to hurt, and Will, in return, didn't want Lydia to hurt either.

"I know I don't." Lydia breathes, looking down at her hands, "I want to help, I want to do something. I can't just sit here and watch the world go by, watch as murderers run off and leave families.. sobbing. Not when I can do something. This isn't because I'm stubborn and I'm trying to put myself where I don't belong, I'm doing this because I have to use this gift, I have to use it for the better."

Wilson paws at her feet, then she realizes his food bowl is empty. She quickly gets up, walking over to his food bag. She takes a small shovel and scoops food into his bowl. When she turns around, she realizes Will is standing at the counter, leaning idly against it.

"I don't know why I care so much." Will shrugs, scratching the back of his neck. Lydia puts the shovel back in the bag, sealing it back up, leaving Wilson to eat. She walks over to Will.

"Neither do I." Lydia replies, "I've only driven out to your house in the middle of the night once. Hardly a commitment." Lydia lightly jokes.

Will suddenly grabs her face, his hand stroking the side of her face, his palm occupying her cheek. He pulls her to him, placing a light chaste kiss on her lips. She finds herself leaning into it, sighing, breathing in his mint-y cologne smell. It was light and fleeting, almost like a feather.

"I should go." Will breathes against her lips.

She's not sure if she wants him to.

* * *

The drive to his house was short and silent. They left each other with a simple goodbye, the kiss still stinging Lydia's cherry lips. When she gets home, she can hardly breathe. She dumps the rest of the tea in his cup, trying to forget the kiss still lingering on her lips.

"I'm being silly, aren't I, Wilson?" She asks the cat watching her from the couch. "It was nothing, right?"

If Wilson could, he'd probably roll his giant green eyes at her. He just responds by blinking at her.

"Good advice." Lydia says sarcastically with an eye roll of her own.

There's a knock at her door, and in her doorway stands Jack, flanked by other FBI agents.

"Lydia, we need to talk to you."

Lydia steps aside, her mouth falling open, "Um, any inkling as to what this is about?" She asks as he passes by her, followed by two other FBI agents.

"Leon Andrews has escaped, leaving you in danger. He took some documents too, that had _your_ name on them. We're assuming he's going to get vengeance on those who have their names in that file, so we need you to come with us." Jack says, walking into her kitchen. He looks into her sink, "Having company?"

"Just left, actually." Lydia says, "I'll go pack a bag."

Jack nods, "I'd hurry, we have to go pick up Will."

Lydia bolts up the steps, taking two at a time. She throws clothes into her bag, toiletries, other things she may need. She finds Wilson's cat carrier, stashing some stuff of his in there. She freezes, worried about Will. She grabs out her phone, quickly texting him.

_Lock your doors, do not open them until we get there! _

She doesn't wait for a response as she shoves the phone into her back pocket, storming back down the steps. "Lets go." She snaps, grabbing Wilson and putting him into his cat carrier.

Lydia did not Will in danger for a fraction of a second.

"We've already got police cars heading over to Will's house, we'll meet them there."

Lydia nods, his kiss still lingering on her lips. She was wondering if their first kiss would be their last.

* * *

_Nice character development slash relationship development between Lydia and Will! Hope you enjoyed! All of your reviews are so lovely, inspired me to write so quickly! Haha!_

_Fave, review, and follow, my three favorite words!_

_xxxx_


	7. Chapter 7

Lydia sat in the back of Jack's car, kneading her fingers together nervously. She closed her eyes for a few beats, listening to the sounds around her, the soft rumble of the car beneath her. The wet road as they drove across it. She decided it could have been peaceful provided her heart wasn't racing a million beats per second.

Jack stops the car suddenly, bursting out of the car. "Will!" He shouts, running at the door. "Let me in, Will, it's an emergency!" He hits his fist against the door until Will answers, looking dazed.

"Is there a problem, Jack?"

Jack looks visibly relieved while Lydia sits in the back of the cop car. She watches Jack tell him to hurry and grab his things. Will comes out in a few minutes, a bag over his shoulder and Winston at his feet. Will's eyes look over to the cop car, directly at Lydia - though the windows are tinted. She swallows hard, breaking his gaze. Looking down at her hands, relieved that he's safe.

* * *

They ended up having to share a hotel room in a very cheap part of town. It had two rooms, one bathroom, and one kitchen. It was fairly simple but it was functional as a safe house. Due to budget cuts, they didn't get their own hotel rooms, but Jack insisted that this was safer for both of them. Lydia stretched out on her bed, Winston laid on her bed, snoozing happily.

"This isn't stress inducing at all." Lydia says, rubbing her temples with her index fingers. "Crazy lunatic out to get us, gee, this is really going to make me want to join the FBI now."

Will comes out of the kitchen, holding a glass of water. He drinks it quickly, "Unfortunately, I'm not exactly new to this. I'll admit to being new to this whole.. safe house idea. Though it doesn't feel entirely safe."

Lydia sits up, "Why do you say that?"

"Sleazy motel, seems exactly like the hideout for a lunatic, doesn't it?"

Lydia lays back down, closing her eyes, "Please, refrain from scaring the shit out of me right now."

"Yet another thing I'm new to."

It was going to be a long night, Lydia decided. Needless to say, she was already freaking out about this lunatic, Leon, but now she had to freak out about Will Graham. Which needless to say, was not a very open-book person. He was a diary, shut tight and voice activated. Possible laser beams to keep intruders out and his secrets in.

Suddenly, thunder storms through the sky. Lydia shrieks, diving under the covers. "Okay, as if this can't get any more horror-movie-y." She groans, "We're going to die here."

Will chuckles at her, sitting next to Winston on her bed, "You're afraid of storms?"

"No." Right as she says it, thunder booms again, and she dives deeper, "That'd be silly." She says in a high pitched tone.

"I'll just leave Winston with you then, goodnight Lydia." Will gets up off of her bed, patting Winston on the head. He walks over to the statue in the sheets, giving her a soothing shoulder squeeze. "It'll be over in no time." Then he's gone.

* * *

Lydia wakes up, her eyes trying to adjust to the dark. She wakes up due to the whining of the dog at her feet. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes and swings her legs over the side of the bed, standing up. "What is it, boy?" She asks the dog, who whines at the door more.

Her eyes finally adjust, revealing Will Graham in his boxers, standing at the door. She approaches him cautiously, "Will...?" She asks.

Will looks over at her, his eyes are bloodshot and absent. He blinks hard, his adam apple bobbing, "Lydia.. what time is it?" He asks, rubbing his eyes.

"It's about.." She looks over at the clock by her night stand, "4 AM. What are you doing up?"

Will stares at her, his mouth open for a second. He runs a hand through his hair, "Uh, I'm not.. exactly sure." He says, turning back to the door.

Lydia walks over to him, grabbing his arm, "You lost time again, didn't you?"

"Seems like that's the case." He dryly laughs, then he quickly sucks in breath, "There's someone out there."

Lydia looks over at the window, "Probably just some drug addict or something - come on Will, go back to bed."

Will shakes his head, starting to sweat, "N-No, it- it's him, I know it is. He found us. He must have hacked into the FBI computers, that's him." Will shakes his head, he disappears back into his room and comes out with a gun.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?" Lydia hisses, grabbing his arm again, "Are you delusional? You'll get hurt! Or worse, killed. Don't do this, Will. We'll call Jack and everything will be okay, now give me the gun.."

Will shakes his head again, wiping his forehead, "I have to keep us safe. I have to keep you safe." He puts his hand on the knob and Lydia hastily gets in front of him.

"I won't let you."

"Now is not the time to play the hero." Will says breathlessly, looking as if he's about to pass out.

"You're not well." Lydia snaps, putting her cool hand on his forehead, "You're running a fever, get back into bed and I'll call Jack."

"He'll be gone before Jack gets here." Will says, swaying on his feet.

"Better than catching him and you getting hurt in the process." Lydia reaches for the hand with the gun, "Hand me it." Will reluctantly allows his hand to place the gun in hers. Her fingers close around it, unused to holding a gun. She sets it on her bed and leads Will back to his room. She helps Will sit on his bed. "I'll get you a glass of water."

She walks back out of the room, going into the kitchen and grabbing down a glass. She pours it near the top with water, managing to put an ice cube in it. Lydia turns to go back to Will's room, and realizes that the door is open.

"Shit." She shouts when she goes back into her room to realize the gun is gone. She grabs her cellphone, speed dialing 911. She rattles out the address then calls Jack.

"H-He ran off with the gun, he thought he saw something - someone, he thought it was Leon." Lydia shouts into the phone, "I'm going after him." She says, shrugging into her knit red sweater and beanie.

"No, Lydia, stay there. Will is unstable, he might shoot you by mistake."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Lydia hangs up the phone, grabbing a pair of black jeans, she quickly squeezes into them, shoving her phone in her back pocket. She runs outside, Winston running beside her.

"Now which way." She decides that the forest is where any murderer would hide.

Lydia runs into the forest, hitting branches that fall in her path, her breathing shallow and uneven. "WILL!" She shouts, the branches scratching at her face. She should have put on some gloves because she's scratching up her hands.

Shouting Will's name was probably not the smartest thing to do when in a forest with a killer. But at that moment, Lydia wanted to keep Will safe. Lydia nears a clearing, right as she's about to get into it, she feels her long golden hair being snatched back, her beanie falling off her head. She gasps.

"Hello there, _angel_."

She looks up into the dark eyes of Leon Andrews. Will was right, damn it, he was right.

"Come on, angel." He tugs her into the clearing by the roots of her hair, causing tears to flood her eyes. "Interesting to see a pretty little thing like you out here this time of night. Seems pretty.. dangerous, doesn't it? Following your boyfriend? Pretty crazy guy, came out here talking about that Hobbs guy he killed a few months back. You wouldn't know a thing about that would you?" Leon's tone is taunting, cocky.

"Just let me go." Lydia says through clenched teeth.

"Now why would I do that? You're the reason I'm going to Prison, isn't it? I read the documents, the FBI should have a better firewall. Hasn't changed much since I left." Leon grabs a knife out, holding it to her neck, "How did you catch me? I didn't leave prints, no evidence, nothing. How on earth, did a little _girl_ like you, get me put behind bars?" His tone is soft at first, calculating, then he shouts, "TELL ME!"

Lydia shivers in her sweater, goosebumps on her arms. "I didn't do anything." She lies.

Suddenly, shuffling in the trees, movement. She feels the knife held harder against her throat.

"Not another step, Mr. Graham."

Will stands in the clearing, still in his boxers and plain white t-shirt. He looks visibly shaken as he holds the gun out at Leon, still sweating profusely. He has his glasses on now, shoved onto the middle of his nose. "Just, p-please don't hurt her." Will looks like he's going to pass out on his feet, shivering in his boxers.

Leon presses the knife harder against Lydia's neck. "Why should I listen to you? You're just another person putting me behind bars." Leon growls, "I don't owe you anything."

Lydia makes a small whimpering noise in the back of her throat, tears pricking at her eyes. "Will, just go."

"Yeah, listen to your pretty little girlfriend, and scram." Leon taunts, throwing his head back to laugh. The knife leaves Lydia's neck for barely less than second. Then, thunder sounds through the air, shaking Lydia to her core.

Then, there's a gunshot.

The shot is so loud, it resonates in her ears.

Then she hears the screaming.

* * *

_oooo, another cliff hanger, I'm getting quite cliff hanger happy, hah!_

_follow, fave, review, the usual drill!_


	8. Chapter 8

Lydia's mouth is ajar, the cold wind whipping at her long golden hair. Collecting around her face until she moves the locks out of her face. Then she realizes, the ends are stained with blood. She whips around to see Leon Andrews laying on the ground, quivering and whimpering in pain. Will Graham, on the other hand, has fallen to the ground, on his knees. As if he was an angel begging for forgiveness.

Lydia takes a tentative step towards him, "Will?" She says after a few beats, her voice cracking. He doesn't respond, doesn't flinch at his own name. She walks closer to him, kneeling down in front of him. "Are you okay?" She asks.

Will's eyes meet hers, and god, do they look haunted. His stain has grown, Lydia realizes. The black hole expanding, threatening to suck Will inside. His eyes are absent, ghost like. She can see herself in them, and he looks down at the smoking gun in his hand.

"Come on, lets get back, tell Jack where to.. find the body." Lydia says the last words with a shiver, putting her arm around Will and heaving him up. He doesn't resist, but nor does he assist. He is numb, her arm around him as she leads him through the path she came.

They walk in silence for a long time, Will tripping over branches and Lydia doing the same. She finally speaks. "You scared me back there." She says so quietly, she's not sure if she said it.

He finally speaks, "Did I?"

"Yes."

Will nods, "Understandable, I'm not.. very stable. Any person in their right mind would have been frightened, especially of me. I wouldn't have shot you."

"That's not what I was scared about, Will." Lydia says, "I was scared you were going to get hurt. What you did was brave, really brave, but on the other hand, incredibly stupid. So stupid."

"Will! Lydia!" Jack runs over to them, "What happened out there? We heard a gun shot. Is everyone all right?" He eyes the two, "Where is Leon Andrews?"

"In the clearing." Lydia says, "He's barely alive, I'd call some medics."

* * *

Leon Andrews was declared dead at 4:54 AM. He died due to a gunshot wound in the chest, that missed his heart by centimeters. He laid in pain until medics came, though when they arrived, Andrews had passed on, a sinister smirk on his face. That young man who called Lydia an angel, would not get justice.

"You should come to dinner with us."

Lydia glances up to see the curious eyes of Hannibal Lector staring at her. She hadn't realized she had slipped away until now. She was at the FBI headquarters, leaning on the wall outside of Jack's office as Hannibal and Will chatted. His stain still bothered her, it was still so large, so dark, so hollow. It was so huge, she wouldn't be surprised if someone else could see it - gift or not.

"I don't want to intrude-" Lydia begins, the stain seems to taunt her.

"It would be a very welcome intrusion. Will's talked a lot about you and I'd like to hear if the rumors are true." Hannibal says with a small laugh, "Come along, it'll be refreshing, especially for Will. He's having a pretty tough time right now, so I think a distraction is what he really needs right now."

Lydia feels her cheeks heat up, was Hannibal Lector labeling Lydia as a.. distraction? Will walks out of Jack's office.

"Hannibal, what are you doing here?" Will asks, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I came to invite you for dinner, but I ran into Ms. Evans while I was waiting. I invited her to join us, if that's all right with you?"

Will nods, he seems dazed. They hadn't spoken since Lydia criticized him for being so incredibly stupid, impulsive, reckless. Not to mention, that awkward kiss was still lingering in the back of her mind.. well both of their minds, really. "That's perfect, perfectly fine." He shakes his head again, seeming dazed, "I need to go do something, actually, seven o' clock?" He asks Hannibal as he passes him.

"Yes, that'd be fine." Hannibal supplies, giving him a smile, "I have an hour session with a patient at six, so that's good for me. You, Lydia?"

Lydia looks up, "Um, yes, that'd be fine."

"Great, then we'll all meet again at seven."

* * *

Lydia was nervous, to say the least. As she shrugged into a simple white cardigan, she wore a floral shirt and black jeans. She straightened her blonde hair, allowing it to lay in wisps down her back.

She kept thinking, which is something Lydia should never do. She grasped her dresser, taking in deep shallow breaths. She was being silly, there was nothing off about Hannibal Lector, he was a perfect gentleman, there was nothing wrong with Hannibal.

Yet why did she feel fear plague her chest whenever she saw him?

She absentmindedly takes a lock of her hair, inspecting it, realizing how long it had taken to get Leon Andrews's blood out of her hair. The golden locks had been tinged with death.

Lydia licks her lips, getting tired of sitting around. She realizes that it's 6:30. She grabs her red jacket, buttoning it up, and she walks out into the cold October air.

She arrives at Hannibal's office early, around 6:45, his patient was just leaving. A very unkempt and terrified man walks out, Hannibal patting his back. Telling him to get some rest.

When the man leaves, Hannibal turns to Lydia, giving her a smile.

"You're early."

Lydia shrugs, "I sort of hate being late. Plus my cat wasn't willing to play with me." She adds with a dry laugh.

Hannibal steps aside, gesturing for her to join him in his office, "Come in."

She brushes past him, unbuttoning her coat. He's behind her then, helping her take it off, then setting it on a hook. He gestures for her to sit down on the chair across from his.

"Tell me, Lydia. You're quite the intriguing character, going off of what Will has told me." Hannibal leans back in his chair, placing his foot on his opposite knee cap.

"What has he told you?" Lydia asks.

"Patient confidentiality." Hannibal gives her a little smile, leaning further into his chair, placing a finger under his chin. "You saw Leon Andrews be killed, you were right beside him, tell me, what were your thoughts at that moment?"

Lydia felt as if she was in a session with him, but nonetheless, she gave him an answer. "I was thinking, if this bastard kills me, it'll ruin Will. Then I thought, well I don't want Will to kill the guy, he struggles enough with Hobbs."

"You're very selfless."

Lydia's cheeks flush, "I've been called many things, selfless not being one of them."

"Will thinks you two are very much alike."

"What happened to patient confidentiality?"

Hannibal smirks, "I agree with him though. I can see why he worries."

"Will worries about me?"

"This isn't new information to you, is it?"

"Not very much so, but it's weird hearing it from somebody else. I just got little vibes of it, nothing else." Lydia shrugs, swallowing hard. "He doesn't have to worry about me, I'll be fine."

Hannibal squints his eyes a little bit, "Very much like Will."

Lydia's cheeks flush again.

Will walks in then, realizing Hannibal and Lydia in their prompt little session. "Hey, hope I'm not late." He eyes Lydia.

"On the contrary, you're right on time. Your friend just doesn't like being late." Hannibal gets up, and Lydia does the same. Brushing her sweaty hands on her jeans.

* * *

They all sat, eating at the long table. Lydia's knee would occasionally brush Will's, and she'd quickly guide it away, feeling her cheeks flush. Will would smirk every so often at the blushing girl beside him.

"Lydia, what do you do outside of the FBI?" Hannibal asks, taking a drink of his wine.

Lydia looks up, "Um, I paint a little bit. I don't do it very often, not much time for it."

"I didn't know you painted." Will says, surprised, looking over at her.

"I keep most of my painting stuff in the attic. My small little house is crowded enough." She says, thinking back to the piles of clothes in her room. "Plus I'm sort of a procrastinator, or I get severe painting block. I haven't found anything to inspire me lately."

Will takes a bite of his food, looking over at Hannibal, "So you two were having a session?"

Hannibal chuckles, "Just a little conversation, Will. Nothing to worry about."

Lydia saw Hannibal's stain flicker, and it took everything in her not to flinch. His stain was so massive, it nearly swallowed up the chair he was sitting in. It made Lydia feel queasy.

She took a quick sip of her wine, making her eyes draw themselves away from Hannibal.

Hannibal was watching Lydia and Will with curiosity flaming his eyes.

"So how long have you two been dating?" Hannibal asks innocently, taking a sip of his wine, his eyebrows raised.

Lydia chokes on her wine, Will gives her a prompt pat on the back, chuckling.

"We're not, Hannibal." Will says, giving Hannibal a little smile, as if the two share a small secret that they only know about.

"Hm." Hannibal says, glancing over at Lydia, "Interesting."

She flinches under his gaze, returning to her food, licking her lips nervously.

* * *

Will and Lydia leave at the same time, each of them heading out to their cars.

"You didn't have to come if you didn't want to. He wouldn't have blamed you, neither would I." Will shyly puts his hands into his jeans, looking down at the ground while he's talking to her.

Lydia shivers in her jacket, pulling it tighter around her. "I wanted to come."

Will looks over at her, "Hannibal liked you."

"Hard to believe. All I did was choke on wine the entire time." Lydia says with a dry laugh, "There isn't much to like." They arrive at her car, she doesn't reach for her keys.

"On the other hand, I believe there's a lot to like.." Will leans in cautiously, as if testing the waters. Lydia feels her breath hitch in her throat, she doesn't move, she just freezes.

Will lightly places his lips on hers, and her lips eagerly respond, pulling him into her, her arms wrapping securely around his neck. Their lips tangle together until they're unsure of where she begins and where he ends. They break apart, gasping for air, but then his lips are on hers again, placing her against the car, which gives out a protest as the car alarm goes off.

Lydia makes a small shrieking noise as he pushes off of her. She scrambles for her keys, quickly pressing the button.

"Is everything all right?" Hannibal calls from his door step.

Will shyly gives him a thumbs up.

"That was a lot better than the first one." Will says, giving her a light fleeting kiss on the cheek. "I should get going."

"Um, yeah, okay, I'll see you.. around." Lydia's at a loss for words, he turns his back on her and walks over to his car. She finally clambers into her car, letting her fingers trail over her lips. "Yep, definitely better than the first one." She agrees with a girlish giggle.

* * *

_review, favorite, follow! My three favorite words!_

_hope you enjoyed! :)_

_xxx_


	9. Chapter 9

Lydia Evans stared at the painting in front of her. Her attic was cramped, but the light streaming through the window made it feel airy. She bites her fingernail, trying to decide on a color. She ends up painting Hannibal Lector's stain. Instead of painting Hannibal, she paints a large moose-like creature. When she finishes, the sun has gone down, and her fears have shot up. There was something off with Hannibal Lector.

Her phone chimes, she quickly grabs it, seeing that it's Will, she feels her heart speed up. "Hello?" She says, nervously wiping her cheek, leaving a red stain.

"Hey, I was just wondering what you were up to."

Lydia looks at her painting, and decides to lie, "Just watching crappy reality TV with Wilson."

"Hmm, sounds like a blast. Do you mind if I stop by?"

"Uh." Lydia stare at the painting for a few more minutes, "Um yeah, sure, come right on over."

"Okay, see you in a bit." He says, clicking off.

Lydia takes her apron off, bounding down the stairs. She hastily takes her bun out, letting her golden hair fall like waves around her shoulders. She plops herself down on the couch and waits.

The doorbell rings finally, Lydia answers the door and Will Graham looks nervous, shifting awkwardly on his feet. She invites him in, and they sit in the kitchen as she starts tea.

"You have paint on your face." Will says as she sits back down.

Lydia absentmindedly reaches her finger up to the paint stain on her cheek. "I painted a little bit today." She stirs her tea, "It was nothing."

"Can I see it?"

She thinks back to the painting, worried Will would connect the dots. "It's really bad." She insists.

"It probably isn't."

"It is though."

They ended up in her attic after a few minutes of playful bantering. He eyed the painting, walking around it. His fingers trailed over the canvas, "Is this my stain?" He asks, his voice sounding strangled.

"No, no it's not. Yours is so much smaller." Lydia walks over to the painting, putting her index finger and her thumb together, she makes a small circle, "About this size, barely larger than a quarter."

"Does it scare you? ... My stain?"

Lydia shakes her head, "No, not at all. Most of the FBI agents carry them, trust me Will, I've seen far worse." She thinks back to Hannibal Lector's, and an involuntary shiver erupts through her. "What is your obsession with thinking that you scare me?"

"Because I do."

"You really don't."

"I should."

Lydia looks up at him, to see his blue eyes staring intensely at her, "Why should I be? What is there about you that should be so damn terrifying to me about you? Don't pull that unstable card either, because I'm not the most stable either."

"Crazy loves company." Will says dryly, he walks over to her, taking her hand, playing idly with her fingers. "I don't know what I'm capable of, that's why. I barely remember shooting Andrews, I remember shooting Hobbs. I saw Hobbs, I didn't see Andrews." He closes his eyes, placing her cool hand on his face, near his stubble. "I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you."

"You won't hurt me." Lydia reassures, rubbing her thumb against his cheek.

"I think I already have." His eyes pop open and his eyes look so haunted, so scared. "Jack has been entertaining the idea that I've been killing all these people, subconsciously."

Lydia gasps, "That's crazy."

"That sort of seems to be my specialty." He looks back at her painting, "That's why I asked about the stain. If I had killed all those people, it'd be big, like that, wouldn't it be?" He pauses, "Lydia, if that's not my stain, who's is it?"

Lydia pauses, taking her hand from his face to nervously wipe them on her jeans. "I shouldn't say."

"What if this person is the Chesapeake ripper?" Will grabs her by the shoulders, "You have to tell me."

"Hannibal." Lydia gasps, "Hannibal Lector, it's his."

Will lets go of her, running a hand through his hair. "That can't be." He paces, biting his fingernail, "It can't. Hannibal Lector is not a killer."

"Leon Andrews wasn't a killer, Hobbs wasn't a killer. Don't you get it, Will? All men start out as innocent men." She nods at the painting, "It's the stain that makes them guilty."

Will bites his lip, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "Not Hannibal."

* * *

Will falls asleep on Lydia's couch. She places a blanket over him, a nice quilt her Grandmother had made for her. It smelt like vanilla and lilacs. It kept the nightmares at bay for Will Graham. He had a nice sleep, he didn't have nightmares, he just slept.

When Lydia woke up, she made french toast and a fresh pot of coffee. Will woke up, walking into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep like that."

"It's fine." Lydia says, "Coffee?" She offers.

"That'd be great."

She pours him a cup and hands it to him, "Did you sleep well? I know that couch is sort of lumpy."

"It was perfect, actually. I.. I didn't have nightmares." Will seems dazed, leaning against the wall, he repeats it again, "I didn't have nightmares.."

Lydia watches him closely, "Are nightmares a natural occurrence for you?"

"Yeah." Will scratches the back of his head, "Weird, I just.. no nightmares.."

"French toast?" Lydia offers, "In celebration of no nightmares?"

Will chuckles, accepting the toast with a smile. He didn't smile often, so when he did, Lydia's heart skipped a beat or two. She smiled, drinking out of her white coffee cup. "No nightmares." He says again, taking a bite of his toast.

"My couch is a very strict nightmare free zone. You've found out my trick, Graham." Lydia says with a soft bounce in her tone, "If you ever need to.. just, have a nice peaceful night of sleep, that lumpy couch is always open to you."

Their eyes connect for a moment, blue on green, so piercing.

"I don't want to be a burden." Will says, putting butter on his toast.

"You're not a burden, I like having you around. It's.. less empty. It seems so lonely here, you know? I just have Wilson, and if I spent all my time talking to Wilson I'd go mad." Lydia shrugs, drinking her coffee.

"Wilson doesn't seem like a great conversationalist." Will quips with a chuckle, setting the butter knife to the side. "Thank you, though. For not thinking I'm some kind of.. burden."

Lydia leans back in her chair, "No problem."

* * *

Lydia and Will drove over to Will's house and they decided to take Winston on a walk. Lydia had a firm grip on the leash as they walked through the cold country side.

"Don't you hate living out here?" Lydia asks, breaking the silence.

"I like it. Not many people have to witness me standing on the roof in my boxers." Will shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Is that a natural occurrence around here? I need to visit more often." Lydia lightly jokes, her smile lighting up her face.

Will chuckles, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "I don't think I'd mind that actually. We've already grown the habit of you having to talk me off the ledge, this would be taking it literal."

Lydia smiles, but it falters, "Do you think you're killing people subconsciously?"

Will looks over at her, surprised at the sudden topic change, "Do you?"

Lydia looks back at him, her mouth opening for a second but she clamps it shut. "I hope not. I'd like to think I'm talking to the actual Will Graham and not some.. psychopath."

Will pauses for a few seconds, "I'd like to think that too."

Lydia runs a hand through her golden blonde hair, "I like the Will I'm talking to right now. I don't think you're a killer Will, and I'm not just saying that because of the size of your stain." She shudders, a cold breeze passing through.

"Were you lying to me, back at the attic?"

Lydia looks over at him, "What have I said to make you doubt me?"

"Nothing, you haven't said anything. But, I'm going to draw the assumption that you like me, so you'd do anything to keep me, wouldn't you?"

"That's a pretty hefty assumption, Graham. Who's to say I don't have a plethora of men waiting in the wings you don't know about?" Lydia teases, feeling the weight of their conversation begin to suffocate her.

Will doesn't chuckle, though a smile touches his lips, "You like the Will that I am right now, so you wouldn't want to do anything to change me in a drastic way. Telling me that I'm killing people would change me."

"But you're not."

Will nods, "I believe you."

"Good, because I don't want you to drive yourself off the edge because you don't trust me." Lydia stops, letting her hand rest on the side of Will's face. "You're not a psychopath, and you're right, I do like you."

Will smiles, leaning into her hand, he pulls her closer, "I'm sort of bad at these.. sort of things. Relationships."

Lydia looks away from him, still smiling, "Is that what we're calling this?"

"Well I don't kiss all of my friends like that." Will says, leaning in until their foreheads touch, "Lydia Evans, would you be my girlfriend? Take me for all of my insecure insanity, and allow me to kiss you whenever I please?"

Lydia is beaming, her face lighting up, "Hmm, I might need a few days to think about your offer.."

"Try seconds, you have seconds."

Lydia laughs into his neck, "Well, I guess I'll try and wing this. How does yes sound?" She asks, pulling away from his neck and looking up at him.

"Yes sounds perfect." Will says, pressing his lips against hers. His arm wraps around her waist, pulling her to him. She presses herself against him, her hands against his chest as their lips move against each other. Winston barks at them, prompting the two to pull away from each other. "Looks like he's excited." Will quips, folding his fingers through Lydia's, "As am I."

* * *

_Been a while since I've updated so I thought 'time to pull out one of those super fluffy chapters!' I hope you enjoyed!_

_Review, follow, and favorite, my three favorite words! _

_xxxx_


	10. Chapter 10

"He killed me, you know."

Lydia whirls around, her blonde hair blowing in her face, hair getting into her lips. Her emerald eyes meet Leon Andrews cold icy stare. He has a gunshot in his chest, and he's giving her a broken smile.

"Your little boyfriend, he's a killer. You've seen that stain, you think he's _normal_?" Leon laughed, disappearing. Lydia whirls around again, to see him behind her. "He's about as normal as a crack addict." Leon's laughter booms throughout the dark forest. "To make it even better, do you think you're normal? You're not, are you? Otherwise why would you be seeing me? Do you feel, dare I say, _guilty_?" He disappears again.

Lydia whips to her right to see him with a small boy.

"My son cried at my funeral, did you know that? Of course you didn't, because you didn't go. You think you're compassionate, don't you? Sympathetic? You're wrong, wrong again. Always _wrong!_" He shouts the last word, coming at her at a lightning pace, stopping only a few inches away from her, "My blood is on your hands too, little girl. You're just as big of a part of my death as he is. You should see your stain." Leon's eyes drift behind her head, "It'll only get bigger, you know. Bigger than mine. People like you, people like us, we're meant to implode."

Lydia awakes, gasping. She slams her hand down on her alarm clock, though it's not ringing. Wilson, her cat, gets up quickly, alarmed.

"I'm fine." Lydia reassures, "I think."

* * *

"Another crime scene, I had something else in mind for our next date." Will Graham says as he holds up the crime scene tape for her. She slides through and gives him a cheeky smile.

"This is perfect." Lydia says sarcastically, "Dead bodies, my favorite kind." She rolls her eyes, walking over to Jack, "So, what do we got?"

Jack points at the dead man in the bed, "Case of ex wife anger or homicidal killer? He's missing organs. Could be our ripper."

Will analyzes the scene, "Could be."

Jack turns to Lydia, "Tell me what you see."

Lydia closes her eyes, allowing her to drift back into the scene. She sees the man struggling, though his struggle is weak and pitiful. He shouts for help, but the ripper silences him with a delicate snap of the neck. As if he were some ballerina, he does it so gracefully.

"My my, we mustn't be rude, shouting isn't very polite."

Lydia recognizes the voice. _She recognizes the voice! _The realization knocks her out of the vision. When she opens her eyes, she's laying on the floor with Will Graham hovering over her.

"What happened?" Will asks, helping her up, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Lydia stands with her mouth ajar, unsure what to say, "No, no I'm not." She rubs the back of her head, "It's your ripper."

Lydia realizes at this moment, Hannibal Lector is the ripper, he is the one they've been hunting. It all made sense. He was so close to everyone at the police station, he knew the cases, he knew everything. He had been playing checkers with Jack and Will, each move trumping them.

She needed evidence.

* * *

Her head is still aching when she gets home. She grabs an ice pack and lays on her couch, putting the ice pack on top of the pillow. She lets her head droop lazily to the side, watching the news.

Suddenly, the TV goes black. Lydia bolts up, glancing around her now dark house, "Hello?" She calls nervously. She gets up, walking over to her emergency kit, grabbing out a flashlight.

"Power went out." She glances outside to see it isn't storming. She grabs her cellphone, yet it isn't her cellphone. It's a human hand. She drops it, screaming. It crawls towards her and she kicks it.

"Just a hallucination, just a hallucination." She's repeating, though the hand ties itself around her boot, pulling her in the direction of her kitchen. When she gets back up, finally warding the hand away.

Hannibal Lector is standing in her kitchen, happily butchering a human heart.

"Dinner is on me." Hannibal says with a smile, "We mustn't be rude, please set the table?"

Lydia stands her ground, "You're the ripper."

"We've discussed this, Miss Evans."

"No, no we haven't." She walks over to him, standing by his side.

Hannibal clicks the two knives together, rubbing them against each other, producing a skin crawling sound. "You've agreed to keep my little secret, and I've agreed to keep yours."

Lydia steps closer to him, "What secret?"

Hannibal gives her a smile instead of an answer.

"You're messing with him, aren't you? Will, you're getting into his head." Lydia says, storming after Hannibal as he walks over to the sink. "It would make sense, being out in the field didn't break him, you did."

"How would you stop me if I was in Will Graham's head? Would you kill me?" Hannibal turns to her with a amused smirk, "Would you slide this knife through my heart?" He hands her the knife in question, "By all means, go right ahead. There is no one stopping you, this is your head after all."

Lydia swallows hard, looking down at the knife to see the blood from the human heart. "What are you? Some kind of.. cannibal?" She asks, feeling bile build in her throat.

Hannibal gives her a smile, "I suppose we could say that. You know what they say, eat the rude." He pokes her lightly with the edge of the knife, a small laugh escaping his lips.

"This is sick, you're sick." Lydia backs away from him slowly, "You're not sane."

Hannibal puts the knives into the sink, walking over to her, rubbing his blood stained hands on his apron, "Am I sick, Lydia?" He asks innocently. "Or are you? Am I sane? Are you sane?"

She can feel the therapist trying to work his magic, she puts her hands over her ears, "Don't do that! DON'T GET INTO MY HEAD!" She shouts.

Hannibal puts a finger under her chin, leaving a small bloody fingerprint, "Aren't I already?"

She wakes up screaming. She startles her cat, who jumps off of the couch and scurries in the opposite direction. She bolts, heading for her bathroom. When Lydia lifts up her chin, she sees his bloody fingerprint.

* * *

Lydia puts on a beanie and goes out into the winter air. Letting it blow softly against her face, forcing her to forget. Though her heart was still racing, her palms still sweating. She would nervously scan the forest and kick pebbles.

"Hey!"

Lydia turns around to see Will Graham jogging down the trail after her.

"I knocked on your door, but, obviously, you weren't there." Will puts his hands into his pockets shyly, "Are you okay? You seem a bit.. on edge."

Lydia shakes her head, licking her lips, "Uh, no, I'm fine, really." She gives him a small smile, "I've just had a really tough day."

Will nods, walking up to her, "Do you need to talk?"

She shakes her head again, running a hand through her curly blonde hair, "That's probably the last thing I need to do. I'm.. running myself ragged lately. I just, I need air."

"Good thing we're out here then." He takes one of his hands out of his pocket, shyly putting it in hers, "I'm here if you need me."

Lydia's mouth falls ajar, then she smiles sadly, "I know."

They walk in silence for a few blocks until they hit the end of the trail. She sits on the edge of the lake, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"You told me I was sane, are you still sticking by that argument?" Lydia asks, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

He sits next to her, leaning back on his hands, "Don't see why my stance would have changed." He looks over at her, "There's something wrong."

Lydia lets her eyes go back to the lake, "Isn't there always?" She laughs dryly, kicking the frozen ground. "Something.. something isn't right with me, Will." She glances over at him, "I don't want to drag you down with me."

Will laughs, he throws back his head and lets out a giant guffaw, "Are we talking about our mental states right now? Lets take a look at mine for a few seconds. I have hallucinations, I dream-walk, talk, drive, and never have good dreams. There isn't something right with me either. Probably why we fit together so well."

Lydia lets out a soft laugh, "I've just been thinking."

"Uh oh."

Lydia looks over at him, "I think you should quit."

Will lets an eyebrow pop up, "Do you?"

"Yes. I don't want to watch you go further down the drain. I also think you should stop seeing Hannibal Lector."

"What's this new fascination of yours with Hannibal Lector?"

_"Am I sane? Are you sane?"__ Hannibal questions_.

Lydia glances down at her feet, "It's nothing. I don't trust him, that's all."

"Are we back to that stain thing?"

"I don't get that kind of thing wrong, Will." She snaps at him, "I'm tired of everyone telling me that I am wrong. I've seen it. My own two eyes."

Will sighs, running a hand through his curly hair, "What is wrong with us?"

Lydia pulls her knees tighter to her chest, "I wish I knew." Lydia breathes, feeling Hannibal's taunting voice in the back of her head.

_She can feel the therapist trying to work his magic, she puts her hands over her ears, "Don't do that! DON'T GET INTO MY HEAD!" She shouts._

_Hannibal puts a finger under her chin, leaving a small bloody fingerprint, "Aren't I already?"_

Not real, she reassures herself. But the words still attach themselves to her heart and prompt her to curl into herself tighter.


End file.
